Chihiro's Second Story
by Auburn Fox
Summary: Chihiro has a dream about Haku. Is it true? If so, will she ever be able to go to the Spirit World to help him? And, will she stop being so pissy to her parents? Read and Review! *Incomplete*
1. The Move

"Spirited Away: Chihiro's Second Story"  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Chihiro and her parents had been traveling for quite some time now. They had left their blue house at the end of the row a few hours ago. Chihiro had been stuffed in the back seat with many of the boxes for the new move. It wasn't like she grew for the whole week before they last moved to their blue house. She still fit, quite comfortably, like the last time. The sky was dark and cloudy that day, much like Chihiro's mood.  
  
Chihiro had not made any friends at the old house because her school did not even start by then. She didn't get a present, or card, this time as well. That didn't matter to her though; Chihiro did not care. All she wanted was to be back with her real friends again. Lin, Kamaji, No-face, Haku, and even Yubaba, Chihiro would give anything to see Yubaba, just to make sure that it all wasn't a dream. Most of all, she missed Haku. Chihiro recalled Kamaji saying something like there was true love between them. She did not think there was anything like that between them. They were just good friends - yeah that's it, good friends. She did kind of like him but she didn't think it was love. All she had missed from her blue house was the entrance to the spirit world and the people behind it.  
  
"Mom! How much longer 'till we get there?" pestered Chihiro trying to fulfill her boredom.  
  
"I don't know Chihiro, try looking out the window," returned her mom in that oh so interested attitude she always had.  
  
Chihiro slowly sat up in her seat and began peering out at the landscape. Large, rolling hills, farms, a cloudy sky, and livestock were all she could see. All these did was make her even more bored. Chihiro decided to try sleeping again. Of course, the moment Chihiro had lay down, Chihiro's father swerved harshly. This caused Chihiro to fall from her seat like a cow just tipped by some kids.  
  
Chihiro had heard her father mumble something about crazy, teenage drivers.  
  
"Chihiro honey, you all right," questioned her mom.  
  
"Yeah mom, fine."  
  
Struggling, Chihiro pulled herself back on the seat, readjusting herself. Her ponytail had become half-undone. She reached behind her head and pulled off the hair- tie. She looked at the purple tie that was just holding up her hair. It had seemed so long ago that her friends made that for her. Chihiro couldn't hold it in any longer. Clutching the purple hair-tie close, she fell asleep to the sounds of her own muffled sobbing.  
  
Chihiro felt something tickle her nose. Pretending to be asleep, she just laid there. Then she felt wind running lightly over her body like a river. She was in a car, how could wind be running over her? She bolted upright only to take in the shock that she was laying in the field right after the tunnel that connected the human world and the spirit world. The sky, quite different to the one she was just looking at, was as clear as the bathhouse waters. Feeling the sun dancing on her skin, she wondered why she was just sitting there. Chihiro took in a deep breath, which awakened her quite well, and began running, no, sprinting to the bathhouse.  
  
When she reached the sad excuse for a river, she leaped from rock to rock.  
  
"Haku! I'm coming - I'm back - everyone!" cried out Chihiro not being able to hold it in any longer.  
  
Not faltering in her speed or breath at all she made her way past the shops, up the second flight of stairs, and past the giant lantern not even glancing at them. She had only one destination in mind, her friends. She dashed across the bridge, in half the time she had ever done before, and through the blue curtains at the entrance. The bathhouse was deserted. Chihiro found this weird, because even though it was in the middle of the day, when the workers slept, someone could usually find a worker or two on a day shift.  
  
Then Chihiro heard a scream that seemed to have shook the whole bathhouse. It came from the baths. Chihiro ran left and entered the cubical with the big bath in it. The scream was defiantly coming from inside it. She immediately started to climb the side of the bath not even thinking what could be awaiting her inside. It took a few times because she slipped once. Okay, three times.  
  
Nothing she had ever seen could have prepared her for what she had just saw. Inside the bath was Haku writhing in pain. His blue uniform was now red from the blood that had been coming from his body. She could not tell exactly where from. He was dying; she knew it. Haku began to fall in and out between his dragon and human form.  
  
"Haku, It's me, - I'm here now," Haku didn't show any sign of hearing her, "don't worry, I'm coming!"  
  
Chihiro leaped into the empty bath. She was falling down but wasn't getting any closer to Haku. Was the bath stretching? She reached for Haku but couldn't reach. He kept getting further and further away.  
  
"No! Haku!"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story. All rights are Studio Ghibli's, Pixar's, and Disney's. Any other contents are mine (Taylor Skinner/Auburn Fox) and ask me before taking any of it. You can e- mail me at Chronotrigger413@aol.com with the subject "Regarding your Fan- fic" or else it probably will be deleted due to the amount of SPAM I get daily. 


	2. The Runaway

Chapter 2  
  
"Haku!" Chihiro bolted upright, dripping in a cold sweat. Crying heavily, she noticed that she was lying in a bed. She didn't know why she was crying or screaming Haku's name, she could not remember the dream she just had. Her parents must have moved her into her new room. Well, it was more of a closet than a room. All it had was a door, a window, and a few boxes of Chihiro's stuff. The walls were in bad shape as well. They were white with many black and yellow marks on them. She wondered what could have made the yellow splotches and each thought was more disturbing than the rest. Chihiro took the purple hair tie she was still clinging on to and put her hair back into a ponytail before her emotions could get worked up again.  
  
Chihiro's family had gotten a bad deal on the house they just moved from; this was mainly due to the fact that they had to move so fast. Chihiro's family first moved to the blue house at the end of the street because Chihiro's father got a job transfer. However, after getting back from the detour of the spirit world, Chihiro's dad's employers had given the job to another because they were a week or so late. After literally getting on his knees, begging, and arguing that he had no idea what his employer was saying, Chihiro's dad was a very dramatic real estate agent, he was able to get a low rate job in the middle of nowhere somewhere in southern Japan. So they got a quick deal on their house and moved within a week.  
  
Chihiro sat up like a mummy emerging from its sarcophagus looked out the window next to her bed. She was right, this place was really in the middle of nowhere. Below her she saw a thick forest and old Japanese style houses. Below her? She must be high up. Someone must have made some form of an attempt at civilizing this place with an apartment building, but they had obviously failed horribly.  
  
The sun was rising just above the mountains on the horizon so she got out of bed, very slowly. After rummaging in a few boxes she found her clothes and put on a very wrinkled outfit. After she finished getting dressed she realized that she put on that very same outfit she wore when she went to the spirit world the first time. She almost started crying, again.  
  
Wow, this apartment is really small, was the first thought that came to Chihiro's mind when she stepped out of her room. Then again, she wasn't expecting much considering how tiny her own room was. Directly across from Chihiro was her parent's bedroom; it wasn't the Taj Majal either. There was also a door at the end of the "hallway" to her right. That must have been the bathroom/laundry room. Chihiro took three steps to her left and found herself in the kitchen/living room.  
  
If Chihiro's bedroom was bad, the kitchen was dismal. At least this room had wall paper, and paint. In fact, half the room was wallpapered purple and the other half was painted orange. The tile was vomit green and the floorboards were becoming undone. In the center of the kitchen was a tiny, plastic, egg yolk colored table. It looked as if it had barely enough room to squeeze in four people. Luckily Chihiro's family only had three.  
  
"Chihiro, set the table please," Chihiro's mom had obviously heard her come in.  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
Chihiro had to search through all the three cabinets in the kitchen until she was able to proceed to set the table for three. It was then that she began to smell the bacon frying in the skillet and the eggs in the pan; Chihiro could not exactly put her finger, or rather nose, on it. However, the smell was somewhere between burning rubber and car exhaust. Okay, it was not that bad, but it was pretty bad. Chihiro's mom took the food from the stove and turned around.  
  
"No Chihiro, only two, your father's working."  
  
Silently following her mother's orders, Chihiro took a plate and fork from the table and placed them back in the cupboard. She then took her seat at the table.  
  
On the table were the bacon and eggs she had smelled and some radish salad. She put some bacon and eggs on her plate and took some salad carefully avoiding the radishes. Ever since she met the radish spirit she has been unable to even go near one. The same went for frogs but she felt that this would not be much of a problem.  
  
There was an awkward silence when both of them just sat there and ate their breakfast. About halfway through the meal Chihiro's mom stated how it wasn't much but they would have to make due with what they had.  
  
"I think it's boring," Chihiro made he opinion known and was satisfied.  
  
However, her mother had to push on an argument, "You will not take that tone with me Chihiro."  
  
"Well it does, why couldn't we have stayed at the other house?"  
  
"Chihiro, your father is working very hard and we need to support him."  
  
"I don't care, I just don't.want to be here."  
  
"If you feel that way about it why don't you just leave?"  
  
"Fine!" Chihiro got up from the table, stormed through the living room, the whole five steps of it, and out the door of her apartment.  
  
Chihiro still was not over the fact that her parents had taken her away from any chance of seeing her friends again. She decided that she would go find somewhere to sleep and come back the next day. Yeah, that would show them. She had been walking for a while now and had no idea where she was going. The trees were dense and sunlight only came down through the tops of the trees in patterns made from the leaves. Chihiro had been walking for a few hours now and had a strong feeling she was going in circles. Realizing she was not walking in any specific path, she decided to head towards the mountains she saw from her window.  
  
After walking for two or so hours she realized how lost she was. She had absolutely no idea where she was. She may never be able to find her way back. What if she died out here? Would wolves eat her? She got scared and began to cry.  
  
Chihiro thought she heard a wolf howl and she broke into a run. She began crying uncontrollably out of fear. Clouds had come in and covered the sky. Moments later it began to rain. Chihiro wanted her parents and was sorry she ever left the apartment. She tripped and fell on a root and splashed into the mud. Still crying, she got up and began running again determined to find shelter from the crying heavens. She was getting exhausted. She began to think of her friends for comfort. All this did was make her more upset. She took off her hair tie and clutched it for confidence.  
  
Suddenly, Chihiro felt the urge to change direction. She followed the urge obeyingly. It actually felt like something was pulling her. Soon after she found a cave from where this force seemed to be pulling her. It seemed as if the cave was calling to her. She walked into the entrance of the cave. She guessed that the tie had led her to safety. Her friends help her even when she is not there. Chihiro was just about to sit down, but the force would not let her. It immediately began tugging her deeper inside the cave. The force was not unlike the force she had felt when Yubaba had pulled her into her office. However, this force now was much lighter than Yubaba's. Chihiro decided to go deeper into the cave to avoid the rain.  
  
She kept peering over her back to make sure she didn't get lost. Chihiro also ran her hands along the side of the cave, to make sure she didn't turn herself around, feeling the roughness. A few seconds in, when she decided she was in far enough, the cave wall began to unnaturally smooth out. Chihiro's curiosity began to get the better of her, and Chihiro kept going deeper into the cave. Minuets went buy, it even felt like hours, but the wall was completely smooth and there was a light at the opposite end of the cave. Chihiro looked behind her and she couldn't even see the light at the other side so she decided all she could do was push on. The force was actually getting stronger, but Chihiro did not want to admit a loss of control to herself. Chihiro slipped a few times and her knees were beginning to bleed. Chihiro now, having a goal in mind, had stopped crying to concentrate on her destination.  
  
As she got nearer to the light she had to shield her eyes. The sky must have been clearer on the other side. She checked behind her again to see if she could see the entrance to the cave and when she turned her head back around she got quite a shock. She was in the waiting room of the spirit world! She had emerged from the door on the left and ahead was the tunnel to the field. All around were the benches and stained glass windows that she had remembered so well. With newfound energy she ran through the tunnel to the field just outside.  
  
When she reached the field she shouted at the top of her lungs out of pure joy, forgetting all her pains, the fight with her mom, and the burning pain in her legs, "Haku! I'm coming - I'm back - everyone!"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story. All rights are Studio Ghibli's, Pixar's, and Disney's. Any other contents are mine (Taylor Skinner/Auburn Fox) and ask me before taking any of it. You can e- mail me at Chronotrigger413@aol.com with the subject "Regarding your Fan- fic" or else it probably will be deleted due to the amount of SPAM! 


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